TV DAILY PICKS MMAG MONDAY 14 OCTOBER

By Melinda Houston

October 12, 2019 — 4.00pm

THE GOOD PLACE

The Good PlaceCredit:

Series return ★★★★

9.50pm, ABC Comedy

Despite its slender premise (bad person ends up in heaven) wonderful writing and genius performances combine to make The Good Place a delightful confection that continues to surprise. Season three opens with a “bold social experiment”, as they say, initiated by Michael. Having been sprung in the Wrong Place, Eleanor et al. have been returned to earth. Can they, with Michael’s help, reform their ways and be re-admitted upstairs? The first episode also includes some hilariously bad Australian accents.

Ten has tried out a few different shiny floor shows this year. But while some have been more successful than others, none have quite hit the spot like this completely loopy mash-up. By going completely over the top the boffins at Ten seemed to have finally nailed it. There’s as much good singing as you’d see on The Voice or AGT. There’s a lot of audience interaction – it’s impossible to resist having a guess yourself. And the reveals are enormous fun.

SOUTH PARK

South ParkCredit:

Season return ★★★½

8.30pm, SBS Viceland

No previews were available but as South Park enters its 23rd(!!!) season, we figure Parker, Stone et al. know what they’re doing. The only potential problem is – as it is with all satire at the moment – the crazier the actual world gets, the harder it is to top it. Hence, perhaps, the synopsis for episode one: “Randy battles home-grown weed and comes to terms with the fact that he might be a towel. Meanwhile, Kyle goes to camp.” Make of that what you will.